THE MIGHTY ESAUS AND THE UNPRETENTIOUS JACOBS

TEXT FOR PRAYERThe Test Of Discipleship

I shall read from "The Mount of Blessing," beginning on page 209, the last paragraph.

"A mere profession of discipleship is of no value....a belief that does not lead to obedience ispresumption. The apostle John says, 'He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not Hiscommandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.' Let none cherish the idea that specialprovidences or miraculous manifestations are to be the proof of the genuineness of their work orof the ideas they advocate. When persons will speak lightly of the Word of God, and set theirimpressions, feelings, and exercises above the divine standard, we may know that they have nolight in them.

"Obedience is the test of discipleship. It is the keeping of the commandments that proves thesincerity of our professions of love. When the doctrine we accept kills sin in the heart, purifies thesoul from defilement, bears fruit unto holiness, we may know that it is the truth of God. Whenbenevolence, kindness, tender-heartedness, sympathy, are manifest in our lives; when the joy ofright-doing is in our hearts; when we exalt Christ, and not self, we may know that our faith is ofthe right order. 'Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.'"

Let us pray for power that will enable us to turn away from being hypocrites, from being mereprofessors of discipleship to genuine followers of Christ, living after the manner He lived andtoiled -- the very essence of Christianity.

We are to study the sixty-sixth chapter of Isaiah. In this chapter the Lord speaks to two groupsof servants: the servants up to the cleansing of the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14) -- to the Judgment forthe Living, the purification of the church ("Testimonies," Vol. 5, pg. 80), the time in which theyare found "smiting" their fellow servants, eating and drinking with the drunken. The otherservants are the servants thereafter. To hear what the Lord has to say to His former servants asthe time of the cleansing approaches, we shall begin the study with the first two verses of thechapter.

Isa. 66:1, 2 -- "Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool:where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those thingshath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look,even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word."

By saying "the heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool," the Lord actually says thatHe has not forsaken the earth; that though His throne is in heaven, His feet are still on earth; thatHe is still interested in His people. But the questions, "where

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is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest?" sadly reveal that the workhas been neglected, that neither a house nor a place of rest has been prepared for Him. TheLord's next statement further confirms this fact, for He reiterates that the things which He foundwere only those things which always were, and which His Own hand, not the hand of Hisservants, have made.

Then by saying, "But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,that trembleth at My Word," He positively makes known that His unfaithful servants aredischarged from His work, that others, poor and of a contrite spirit who tremble at His Word,have taken their places, that what the former servants have failed to do, the latter will do. At thesame time He charges the former servants that they feel rich in spirit and in need of nothing more;that they do not fear His Word. Hence the servants who are to build Him a house and to make aplace for His rest, are to be men of a poor and a contrite spirit; men who tremble at His Word;men who are not proud and boastful, but who are teachable and mindful of His Word; men whoare penitent and see themselves in need of everything instead of in need of nothing. Finally theLord angrily declares:

Isa. 66:3, 4 -- "He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cutoff a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burnethincense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delightethin their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them;because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil beforeMine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted

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not."

No matter how good or how important the sacrifices may be, so long as we serve Him in ourown way our gifts and sacrifices are an abomination unto Him. Man's own ways must beabandoned, even though it be the hardest task to face, if he is to make peace with God.

There is no question but that God has now sent this warning message to His unfaithfulself-important servants, though they do not and will not hear. Having said what He wished to sayto them, He now turns to His newly hired servants:

Isa. 66:5, 6 -- "Hear the Word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His Word; Your brethren that hatedyou, that cast you out for My name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but He shall appear toyour joy, and they shall be ashamed. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, avoice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to His enemies."

Some have already had the experience of being carried bodily out of the churches for no otherreason than for having read "The Shepherd's Rod," and for having said, "I believe what It says." Of course, it is incredible that men should act like demons. It is nevertheless so, and God Himselftestifies against their demon practice. We do not pity ourselves, and are not at all angry at ouradversaries, but we are sorry about their spiritual blindness, misery, poverty, and nakedness, forwe know that the coming joy is to be ours, and the sorrow and shame and gnashing of teeth,theirs. This we know as verily as Jacob knew that God was with him in his flight from the face ofEsau.

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The Esaus of today, though, do not know this. No, they do not know it any more than Esau ofold knew of Jacob's night vision of the ladder that extended from heaven to Jacob's dew-soakedbed.

If any part of the Bible is become present Truth, Isaiah 66:5 certainly is. Consequently, fromthe city there is a noise and there is a voice from the temple against us; but the voice of the Lord,the message of today, is what counts and what settles all things. Are you afraid of being cast out? or are you trembling at God's Word? Now you have to make your choice against opposition ifyou expect to be in the Kingdom eternal.

Isa. 66:7 -- "Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of aman child."

For a woman to be delivered of a child before she travails and before her pain comes, is anincredible thing -- a miracle. And that is just what happened to the church when the Lord wasborn in the manger of Bethlehem: The church knew not her visitation, and though she felt no needof a Saviour (travailed not), yet she brought forth the child. But according to the verse thatfollows, the church in this day shall experience even a greater miracle than did the church inChrist's day:

Isa. 66:8 -- "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made tobring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, shebrought forth her children."

The church is now filled with tares, with bad fish and with goats. It is hard to find the saints. She is

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nevertheless all at once to bring a multitude of converts which no man can number. TheDenomination does not believe this; no, no more than the Jews believed that the Saviour was bornin the manger, nor any more than did they expect the fishermen of Galilee to take the places of thepious priests and of the exalted religious leaders of that day, and no more than did they expect theGentiles to share in the promises of Israel. The Denomination of today, too, thinks that tomorrowis to be as today, that the Lord God has left men forever to do as they please. She does not knowthat the Lord is taking the reins in His Own hands ("Testimonies to Ministers," p. 300). She stillthinks that she is rich and increased with goods (Truth), and has need of nothing more. Thechurch will, nevertheless, see all the promises fulfilled. She will see that these scriptures are not inthe Bible merely to fill space. As soon as she thus travails and feels her need, just that soon willher courts be filled with saints and her work finished.

Isa. 66:9 -- "Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I causeto bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God."

Would the Lord have made these promises if He were not able to fulfill them? This is the greatquestion before you, before me. And would He start something if He cannot perform and finish? You must not lightly pass over these questions, for your answers will decide your destiny.

Isa. 66:10-14 -- "Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice forjoy with her, all ye that mourn for her: that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of herconsolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance

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of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the gloryof the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and bedandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shallbe comforted in Jerusalem. And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shallflourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward His servants, and Hisindignation toward His enemies."

Here we are told that only those who mourn for Jerusalem, those who pray for theestablishment of His antitypical throne of David, and kingdom, are to rejoice with her. They, andonly they, will profit from the abundance of her glory. None others will share her peace and herabundant glory. No, none others will be dandled upon her knees. The sinners shall not becomforted in Jerusalem, and their lukewarmness will become red hot and put them running to thehills and to the rocks of the mountains (Rev. 6:14-17).

Isa. 66:15-17 -- "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind,to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His swordwill the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctifythemselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh,and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord."

After God has done all He can do to direct the path of His servants, when there is "no moreremedy," just then, Divine retribution is to be meted out. Those who continue to walk in theirown way will then

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find themselves in the wide path where there is no Divine mercy, where the Avenger of justicetakes His toll.

They are those who sanctify and purify themselves in the garden behind one tree (behind theleader); that is, they pretend to be very religious in their gathering places, trusting that the ministerwill lead them through to the Kingdom. They indulge in the use of forbidden meats and at thesame time boastingly pretend to be sanctified and purified. To the Lord, however, they appear aswhite-washed sepulchres full of rotten flesh, as cups that are clean on the outside but filthy on theinside.

Isa. 66:18, 19 -- "For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather allnations and tongues; and they shall come, and see My glory. And I will set a sign among them,and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that drawthe bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seenMy glory; and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles."

What the Lord is about to do is not to be done in secret. It is not an imaginary thing notsomething enshrouded in mystery to be guessed at; but it is a plain and open act before all thenations.

Now to their own destruction, men argue that this is a spiritual slaughter, (What is a spiritualslaughter? -- no one knows.) although it is plain to see that it is the Judgment for the Living. Thefact that for over a century the Denomination has been teaching that the Judgment for the Dead isto separate the good from the bad (the tares from the wheat) their

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foolish arguments now prove that they are not only ignorant of it, but even so blind (Rev. 3:17)that even after told and shown what it is they cannot see it! Although they claim to know that theJudgment is to separate the wheat from the tares, the good from the bad, that it is to cleanse thesanctuary by blotting out the names of the bad and the sins of the good, they do not admit thatthis strange act of God is nothing less than the Judgment for the Living in the house of God (1Pet. 4:17), the cleansing of the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14), the purification of the church("Testimonies," Vol. 5, pg. 80), the cleansing of the temple (Mal. 3:1-3).

No longer try to console yourselves that this slaughter of the Lord is something imaginary, orthat it takes place after the close of probation. Now get ready lest you fall. Let no man divertyour attention from it.

The verse we just read explains that those who "escape" the Lord's sword, will He send to theGentiles, to those who have not heard His fame or seen His glory, and they shall declare His gloryamong the Gentiles; they shall bring to the house of the Lord all who will be saved. Here let usread the Lord's exact words:

Isa. 66:20, 21 -- "And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of allnations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to Myholy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a cleanvessel into the house of the Lord. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saiththe Lord."

Now, in view of the fact that those who escape the slaughter of the Lord are sent asmissionaries,

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preachers, and ministers to all the nations and peoples who as yet know not God and His gospel,there is but this conclusion: that the slaughter takes place only among God's people; that it is theJudgment for the Living in the "house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17); that shepherds are slain because theyhave kept the sheep away from the Lord's green pasture (present Truth); that the faithful laity taketheir places; that then the church, "bright as the sun, fair as the moon, and terrible as an army withbanners," "goes forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer." Thus is the gospel workfinished and the wicked world brought to an end.

"Only those who have withstood temptation in the strength of the Mighty One will be permittedto act a part in proclaiming it [Third Angel's Message] when it shall have swelled into the LoudCry." -- "The Review and Herald," Nov. 19, 1908.

"...We have been inclined to think that where there are no faithful ministers, there can be no trueChristians; but this is not the case. God has promised that where the shepherds are not true hewill take charge of the flock himself. God has never made the flock wholly dependent uponhuman instrumentalities. But the days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. Godwill have a people pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place, we shall be better ableto measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord willmanifest that his fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor." -- "Testimonies," Vol.5, pg. 80.

Isa. 66:22 -- "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain beforeMe, saith the

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Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain."

With this verse Inspiration now begins to disclose things which take place in the earth madenew.

Isa. 66:23 -- "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from oneSabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord."

The Sabbath, you see, is as eternal as the earth. It is to be kept not only now, but even after thissin-cursed earth is made new. And not only now ought God's people to meet together in thehouse of the Lord each Sabbath, but they shall joyfully continue to do so throughout eternity.

Isa. 66:24 -- "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that havetransgressed against Me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and theyshall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

Although the preceding verses of this chapter are not studied much by any, the last two haveoften been discussed and debated upon by many. To some they mean that there is to be an eternaltorment. But does the scripture at all sustain such a thought? -- No, it does not. The definition of"carcasses" is "lifeless bodies." And the prophet Malachi says: "For, behold, the day cometh, thatshall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the daythat cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root norbranch. But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in Hiswings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of

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the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feetin the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. 4:1-3.

The carcasses at first and the ashes at last of the unfaithful servants being under the feet of thesaints, can hardly indicate that the unfaithful are pushed into "hell fire," there to live forever. Moreover since only the righteous are given eternal life, then the wicked must be given eternaldeath. Furthermore, "second death" (Rev. 20:14) cannot mean "second life."

The theory of eternal torment has been superficially derived from the statement, "their wormshall not die." "Their worm," the worm that gorges on their carcasses, though, cannot possiblymean the souls of the people. At least it cannot mean such to him who digs deep into the well ofsalvation, and that can think and reason for himself. Such a one reads between the lines and notesthe full value of each word. If "worm" means anything, then it means that the worm thrives onthe carcasses, that it is the agency which reduces the constituents of the carcasses to their originalelements. Indeed, "the worm shall not die"; it shall certainly accomplish its consuming work; thecarcasses shall He bring down to dust, "for dust thou art," says the scripture, "and unto dust shaltthou return." Gen. 3:19. It is this disintegrating agency, the consuming worm that does not die. Moreover, we are told that the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezek. 18:4).

It is plainly seen that the preaching of eternal suffering in hell fire rather than eternal death, isprompted by unscrupulous so-called soul winners

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endeavoring to drive their audiences into church by fright. But if they knew that only theborn-again through the love of the Truth are given the right to enter into the Holy City, if theyknew that those who must be frightened in are excluded from it, if they knew that anything whichmaketh a lie is also not given the right to enter therein, -- if they wholeheartedly knew all these,they would perhaps stop preaching eternal life in hell fire, and begin to preach eternal love of theTruth. Let us now close our study by reading the Lord's final plea:

"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if thegoodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched,and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Whothen is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over His household, to givethem meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall find sodoing. Verily I say unto you, That He shall make him ruler over all His goods.

"But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth His coming; and shall beginto smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the Lord of that servant shallcome in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cuthim asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashingof teeth." Matthew 24:42-51.

There is but one right choice for you to make, and that is to cease keeping company with themighty Esaus, and to join the unpretentious Truth-laden Jacobs.

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